Electric-railway trolley.



No. 672,741. Patented Apr. 2s, mol.

c. H. MYERS. l

ELECTRIC RAILWAY TROLLEY.

(Application filed Nov. 30, 1897. Renewed Sept. 8, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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CHARLES H. MYERS, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

ELEC-TRIC-RAILWAY TROLLEY.

SPECIFICATION forming` part of Letters Patent N0. 672,741, dated April23, 1901.

Application filed November 30, 1897. Renewed September 8, 1900. SerialNo. 29,450. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. MYERS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, haveinvented a new and useful Electric-Railway Trolley, of which thefollowing is a specification.

In electric railways in which the motor derives its power from a currenttaken from an electrical conductor by means of a trolley the directionof the current passing through the motor is changed by a controller orlike contrivance within convenient reach of the motorman, so as toreverse the direction of travel when shifting theposition of thetrolley. The current after being spent in propelling thecar or vehicleis returned to the generator usually by means of the rails,which areelectrically bonded, so as to form a continuous conductor. The leakageof the current from the rails is a source of great damage to water, gas,and other pipes along the line of the road,and, moreover, the electricalbonds between the rail-joints require frequent replacement, which addsmaterially to the cost of maintaining the road in working order.

The purpose of the present invention is to obviate the employment of therail as a means of returning the current to the generator and to providea trolley which will take the current from the live conductor and returnit by means of a second conductor paralleling the main or liveconductor.

For a full understanding of the merits and advantages of the inventionreference is to be had to the accompanying drawings and the followingdescription.

The improvement is susceptible of various changes in the form,proportion, and the minor details of construction without departing fromthe principle or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof, and to afull disclosure of the invention an adaptation thereof is shown in theaccompanying drawings, Yin which- Figure 1 is a front view of a trolleyconstructed in accordance with this invention, parts being broken away.Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the base-plate, to which the trolley arm orpole is attached. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of thelowersegment-contacts,which are attached to the deck of the car orconveyance. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the insulation placed between thecomponent parts of the base-plate and the upper set of electricalcontacts. Fig. 5 is a bottom plan View of the upper set of contacts andthe base-plate, showing the insulation in place.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in the several views of the drawings by thesame reference characters.

The deck of the car or conveyance is represented by the numeral 1 andhas electrical contacts 2, of segmental form, bolted or otherwisesecured thereto and which form the terminals of the wires or conductorsextending from the motor. A bolt or journal 3 extends vertically fromthe deck l and is concentric with the contacts 2 and is the axis uponwhich the trolley arm or pole 4, its base 5, and the upper set ofelectrical contacts 6 turn. The base 5 is in a higher plane than thecontacts 6 and is connected therewith by braces 7. The base 5 is steppedor offset, as shown at 8, which parts 8 are in a lower plane and are ofsegmental form and have the upper ends of the braces 7 applied directlythereto, the parts 5 and 8 being integrally cast or secured together inany substantial and convenient way. A block of insulation 9 isinterposed between the component parts of the base 5 and is bolted orotherwise secured at its edges to the offset portions 8 and is providedwith a raised portion 10, which comes between the inner edges of thesaid parts 8, so as to brace them against inward displacement.

The trolley arm or pole 4 is mounted upon a rod or shaft 11, which issupported at its ends in lugs 12, rising vertically from the base 5.Coil-springs 13 are mounted upon the end portions of the rod or shaft1l, upon each side of the pole 4, and have their outer ends secured tothe lugs 12 and their inner ends engaging with the pole, so as to holdthe wheels carried thereby in engagement with the conductors. Thesesprings 13 may be separately formed; but it is preferred to constructthem of a single wire, the middle portion of which is formed into a loop14 and is engaged with a pin or headed stud 15, applied to a side of thepole.

A fork is applied to the upper end of the pole 4, and its members 16 areelectrically in- IOO sulated from each other and are bifurcated at theirupper ends and receive and support wheels 17, which travel upon theconductors. An idler 18 of some insulating material is journaled betweenthe branching members of the fork at the crotch and is intended toprevent injurious contact ofthe fork with one or the other of theconductors in the event of the Wheels 17 leaving them.

The base and upper set of electrical contacts 6 are mounted to turn uponthe pin or journal 3, thereby admitting of the polebeing easily reversedwhen it is required to change the direction of travel of the car orconveyance, as when returning over the road. It is 4obvious that themountings and electrical contacts for the trolley arm or pole may beapplied to a single as well as a double trolley. A sleeve 19 is appliedto the part 9 and is mounted upon the journal 3 and prevents any lateralplay of the base 5 and the parts attached thereto. The contacts 6correspond with the contacts 2, and their end portions are beveled attheir under sides, so as to ride upon thefextremities of the contacts 2when shifting the position of the trolley.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is-- v1. Inan electric railway, the combination of fixed terminal contacts ofsegmental form oppositely disposed about a common center, movableterminal contacts of correspondingr segmental form and placed tocooperate with the said fixed contacts and having their eX- tremitiesbeveled, a raised sectional base having its parts electrically insulatedand rigidly connected and in electrical connection with the respectivemovable segmental contacts,

and a trolley-arm having electrically-insu-A lated traveling contactselectrically connected with the said respective movable contacts,substantially as described.

2. In an electric railway, the combination of fixed contacts ofsegmental form, correspondingmovablesegmental contacts,araised basehaving its parts offset and electrically connected by braces to themovable contacts, a block of insulating material snugly fittedbetween-the separated parts of the base and rigidly secured'to each andforming a part of the base, and a trolley-arm secured to the said blockand provided with electrically-insulated traveling contacts inelectrical connection with the said movable contacts, substantially asdescribed.

3. In an electric railway, the combination of ixed segmental contacts,movable segmental contacts cooperating with the xed coutacts, asegmental raised base having its parts offset and electrically andrigidly connected with the movable contacts, a block of insulatingmaterial having a raised portion and snugly tted between the offsetparts of the said base aud forming a part thereof, means rigidlyconnecting the several parts, a bearing-sleeve applied to the centralportion of the base and mounted upon a vertical journal, and atrolley-arm applied to the insulated section of the base and havingelectricallyinsulated traveling contacts electrically connected with theouter sections of the said base, substantially as set forth.

4. In an electric railway, the combination of xed segmental contacts,cooperating movable segmental contacts, a sectional base having each ofits parts formed with upper and lower portions having an osetarrangement, braces connecting the lower portions of the sections withthe movable contacts, a block of insulated material having a raisedportion .and snugly fitted between the upper and lower portions of thesections of the base and rigidly connected thereto and forming a part ofthe base, a transverse shaft supported in lugs applied to the endportions of the base, a trolley-arm mounted upon said shaft and pressedupward at its free end by a spring mounted upon said shaft, andelectrically-insulated contacts applied to the trolley-arm andelectrically connected with the outer` parts or sections of theaforesaid base, substantially as set forth.

5. In a trolley, the combination of a fork having its memberselectrically insulated from each other and bifurcated, contactwheelsjournaled in the bifurcations of the fork members, and a wheel ofinsulating material j ournaled in the crotch formed between theforkmembers, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

.0. H. MYERS.

Witnesses:

JOHN H. SIGGERS, FRANcEs PEYToN SMITH.

IOO

